I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! Only 5 more days until Christmas and I can't wait! :)
The purpose of this Happy Friday is to offer a few minutes of encouragement. Please, grab a cup of coffee and lets visit for a moment...
A few days ago I was watching a Hallmark move - of course I was, it is Christmas!!! :) The whole point/problem was that a lady wanted her man to be perfect, textbook perfect in fact. Of course he failed miserably at being perfect however he was doing quite well at being him. Sound familiar?! As much as folks like to ridicule Hallmark movies, they got this one right. Most, if not all, of us strive to be perfect and though we fail miserably in our own efforts, we hold others to this impossibly ridiculous standard. This leads to lives of brokenness, sorrow, shame, guilt, worry, etc., and shattered relationships everywhere.
This morning I want to encourage all of us to embrace, and actually appreciate, perfect imperfections. And this is a two-way go!
1. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose, lacking nothing! Please note, nowhere was the word "perfect" used. You are not perfect - sorry if I am the first one to tell you! :) - and neither am I or anyone else! In fact, you and I are not called to be perfect, we are created to fulfill the purpose for which we are called. And you want me to really freak you out?!?! It is often through our imperfections and brokenness that our purpose is found and that we are given the greatest platforms to positively influence this world. Let that sink in for a moment...
Look Friends, you are stinkin' awesome! Please quit holding yourself to a standard to which you can never meet and, in fact, where never expected to meet. What you and I are called to do is become the best we are capable of becoming...period! Just as we all have disabilities - the lack of ability to do some things - we also have great abilities. We have great passions. We have great hopes and goals and dreams! Please take whatever abilities you have, stop fighting for your disabilities, and fully become all that you are capable of becoming. While it might not be "perfect", it is perfectly you! And that is what this world so desperately needs - pure-hearted, authentic people who simply give the very best they have to each and every day.
2. And just as you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose, lacking nothing, so is everyone else! Please read that again. No, they are not perfect. No, they don't have the same abilities, passions, hopes, goals and/or dreams as you. They don't necessarily have the same values, morals, ethics or manners as you. It is not your or my place to judge them, to tell them who or what they should be, what they should do, etc. Not one place in the Bible am I told to judge them....over and over again, I am told to love them. How come we work so hard at perfectly judging but we are not concerned at all about perfectly loving?!?!
At this time of year when we gather with family and friends, let's focus on simply loving each and every person before us, where they are, for who they are, without any expectations. Please stop trying to hold others to ridiculous standards and simply come alongside them and enjoy the journey. If we would simply have pure, authentic relationships, we will find that we have, in fact, found perfection.
I want to share a few quotes/scriptures to wrap up this Happy Friday.
"I'm note here to be small, to compare, to judge (myself or you), to fit in or to be perfect. I'm here to grow, to learn, to love, to be human." - Sue Fitzmaurice
"Circumstances don't define you. They shape you. You're molded to make a difference. Let your light shine bright, even through the cracks." - Julie Barbera
"Don't criticize, and then you won't be criticized. For others will treat you as you treat them. And why worry about the speck in the eye of a brother when you have a board in your own? Should you say, 'Friend, let me help you get that speck out of your eye,' when you can't even see because of the board in your own? Hypocrite! First get rid of the board. Then you can see to help your brother." - Matthew 7: 1 - 5
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;" - Psalm 139: 14
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29: 11
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these." - Mark 12: 30 - 31
What if we really lived out Mark 12: 30-31? What if we simply gave everything we had to loving God and loving the people He places in our lives? What if we drop all the facades and charades and simply love? It strikes me as sickeningly funny that so many want to be experts and tell others how they should look, behave, live, etc., many who profess to be Christians. How about the last sentence, the one that says, 'there is no greater commandment than these'? Please Dear Friends, love you for who you are and love others for who they are. That would be absolutely perfect!
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, a very Merry Christmas and please, cherish your precious families.
Kev
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